Mail-bag catching and delivering apparatus.



No. 876,864. PATENTED JAN. 14,-1908.

, J; B. DAWSON. MAIL BAG GATUHING AND DELIVERING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED APR.17,1907.

' WITNESSES I E 'D V VENTO/f MES AWS UN ,7 M I ATTORNEYS JAMES BROWN DAWSON, OF PIONEER, MONTANA.

MAIL-BAG GATCHING AND DELIVERING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 14, 1908.

Application filed April 17, 1907- Serial No. 368.7%.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES BROWN DAW- SON, a citizen of the United States, and aresident of Pioneer, in the county of Powell and State of Montana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail-Bag Catching and Delivering Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is an automatic locking and mail exchanging device for railways; and consists in certain novel constructions and combinations of parts as will be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a sectional elevation illustrating the parts on a car and on the station post, as in the operation of receiving and delivering mail bags. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a portion of a car with the bag holding and receiving devices adjusted out of position for use. Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view illustrating the latch on the car for holding the bag catcher and deliverer in position for use. Fig. 4 is a detail view of the bag catching devices for use on the car. Fig. 5 is a detail plan view of the bag catching and delivering device for use on the station post. Fig. 6 is a top plan view, and Fig. 7 a sectional view on about line 7-7 of Fig. 6, and Fig. 8 is a top plan view and Fig. 9 is a side view, said Figs. 6 to 9, illustrating a somewhat difierent construction of the ipring actuated latch from that illustrated in The post A, at the station, for receiving and delivering bags may be mounted on any suitable form of base A and is provided with the upper and lower arms B and C which may be turned to the full line position shown in Fig. 1 for use or may be adjusted to the dotted line position indicated in said Fig. 1 when not in use. The arm B is weighted at B to drop to the dotted line position when released and the arm G will drop by gravity to its dotted line position except when the bag is connected with the arms B and O, as shown in Fig. 1.

The upper arm B is utilized in supporting the bag to be delivered to the car while the lower arm 0 is held in the full line position shown in Fig. 1 by the said bag and is also adapted to receive the bag from the car whether the car be approaching from one direction or the other. To this end the arm 0 is provided with the forks C facing in reverse directions and flaring toward their outer ends to receive the bag which when it enters the throat C of the fork will be held by the latch D which latch is similar to the latch D illustrated in detail in Fig. 4, and more fully described hereinafter. By this construction the latch D will, after the bag has entered the throat of the fork, secure the same and hold it until it is forcibly removed by the attendant.

Between the forks O the arm O is provided with a forwardly projecting extension 0 having at its outer end any suitable form of fastening O for securing the lower end of the bag, the arm B being provided at its outer end with a similar fastening B which said fastenings B and C may be of ordinary construction and as illustrated in Fig. 5, and similar to the corresponding fastening E on the delivery portion of the bag holding device E for the car. This latter includes a shaft E journaled in suitable bearings and having a handle E by which it may be turned and the fork E provided at its throat with a latch D for securing the bag when caught by the said hook. The fastening E holds the upper end of the bag while its lower end is connected with the fastening F on a bail F pivoted at F to the car and the shaft E has a handle E which when the shaft is turned to the position indicated in dotted lines Fig. 3 will be engaged and held by a latch G at the side of the doorway as best shown in Fig. 3 of the drawing. This latch G is a spring plate which may be depressed, as indicated in dotted lines Fig. 3 to release the shaft and permit the fork to fall to the full line position shown in Fig. 2.

The latch D as best shown in Fig. 4, is pivoted at d and has the short arms d and (1 arranged approximately at a right angle to each other and the butt portion d provided with angular faces d and d corresponding to the arms (1 and d and engaged by a spring (1 which operates to hold the latch D with either the arm (1 or the arm d projecting at a right angle across the throat of the fork to hold a bag when the latter has been caught. At the same time this latch permits the bag to be forcibly removed by an attendant. l employ latches of this character on the forks of both the station and the car bag supporting devices, as will be understood from the foregoing description. 7

It will'be noticed that the station crane as well as the crane upon the car is adapted for both receiving and supporting the bag and that the crane upon the car includes the parts E and F, the bail F dropping by gravity to the position shown in Fig. 2, except when the bag is applied and being supported in the osition shown in Fig. 1 by the bag when the atter is applied as illustrated in said figure.

In operation the station agent may apply the bag to the upper and lower arms B and C of the station crane as shown in Fig. 1, hanging the bag on the upper arm and then raising up the lower arm and hooking the 3 bag thereon when the mail is ready for de livery and the forks O are also ad usted to position to receive the bag from a train. The mail clerk will take the sack to the door of the car and hookthe top of thesack on the short arm or extension carrying the fastening E and the lower end of the sack to the fastenings on the bail F and holding the bag securely in position to be engaged by the crane hook O, as the car passes the crane, when the mail will be exchanged. It will be noticed that the distance from the fork on the crane arm to the extension 0 of said arm is suincient to allow the mail to be received by the said hook without disturbing the position of the mail sack supported at C the sack being taken by the car hook from the crane after the crane hook has taken the bag from the car.

When the parts are as shown in Fig. 1 and i the sack is taken from the car hook, the bail or crank F will drop by gravity but the car hook will be held in the position shown in Fig. 1 by the latch G until the latter is released.

The lower arm of the crane is an important feature as it is designed to receive mail sacks from cars approaching fi om the opposite points and the sack-receiving devices are sufficiently distant from the intermediate sack delivering device to avoid any disturbance of the sack suspended on the crane by the delivery to the crane of a sack'from a car. It will also be noticed that the short arm 6 carrying the fastening E and arranged on the outer side of the car hook about midway between the ends thereof is a convenient and simple means of supporting the upper end of the mail bag from the car hook in convenient position to be caught by the devices on the station crane in the use of the invention.

In Figs. 6 to 9, I show somewhat different constructions of spring actuated latch. 1n the construction shown in Figs. 6 and 7 the L-shaped latch is pivoted at 1 and has its arms 2 and 3 movable alternately across the throat of the hook. The arm 3 is reduced in thickness between its ends so it operates with a spring action and will bind when in the position shown in Fig. 6 by the .pressure of its nately across the throat of the latch and upon the pivot 5 of the latch I arrange a coil spring 7 giving tension upon the latch to hold it in either of its positions so the latch will not move accidentally out of place when I claim ratus a station crane having a pivoted arm and provided at its outer end with hooks facing in opposite directions and with an intermediate outwardly projecting extension, the

ilatter having means for connection with a mail sack and the hooks being provided with pivoted latches having arms projecting at an angle to each other and the butt portions provided with faces for engagement by a spring, and a spring engaging said faces for holding the latch in different positions, an arm above said first arm and provided with means for connection with a mail sack, a car hook having a sack receiving hook provided in its throat with a latch device and having on its outer side a fastening for connection with the upper end of a mail sack, a latch for holding said car hook in position for use, and a pivoted bail on the car and provided with 1 adjusted to one position or the other inthe use of the invention.

' 1. In a mail receiving and delivering appameans for connection with the lower end of a and delivery of mail sacks, and a pivoted bail in the doorway below said car hook and having means for connection with the lower end of a sack, suspended from said hook, the cross-bar of said bail swinging into the doorway when the bail is not in use, substantially as set forth.

4. A mail receiving and delivering apparatus comprising a station crane having a pivoted arm provided at its outer end with hooks facing 1n opposite directions and with an intermediate outwardly projecting eXtension having means for connection with a mail sack, an arm above said first arm and provided with means for connection with the mail sack, a car hook having a sack receiving hook provided in its throat with a latch dethe mail sack suspended from the car hook,

fvice and having on it?l outer side gfa stening substantially as described.

or connection with t e up er en 0 a mail sack, a latch for holding said car hook in po- JAMES BROWN DAWSON 5 sition for use, and a pivoted bail on the car Witnesses:

and below the car hook and provided with JOHN MoHUGH, means for connection with the lower end of R0131. L. NORRIS. 

